Coast road development reveals new archaeological discoveries

For almost a year, the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage has been monitoring road construction works along the Coast Road. Since the road-widening development began in April 2014, the entire 7km length of the road has been monitored by archaeologists, as is required by the development permits for many sites. From Pembroke to Salina, the Superintendence has recorded a number of archaeological discoveries which range from a Punico/Roman tomb, vine trenches, a fougasse and the remains of a late Roman structure.

Last year, MEPA scheduled 50 new sites which were discovered by the Superintendence during monitoring. The Area of Archaeological Importance around Rabat has been substantially increased because of new discoveries.

Close to Pembroke, an ancient rock-cut tomb, from the Punic-Roman period was saved. The tomb reflects the long history of the area which we now refer to as Pembroke. The grave is a lesser-known type because it was cut into a natural terrace facing the sea. The tomb will be preserved in a new roundabout.

Further down hill beyond Bahar ic-Caghaq, a series of agricultural trenches, often referred to as vine trenches, as a reminder that wine production was carried out in the area. Given Malta’s difficult terrain, these deep trenches captured water and retained moisture to support vines. Elsewhere on the island, the earliest dates for these vine trenches have been firmly fixed in the Roman period. Vine trenches are known to have been used well into the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Associated with the Bahar ic-Caghaq trenches were a series of old quarries, which in places reached to a depth of about 1m in depth.

A notable discovery was an eighteenth-century fougasse – a large mortar canon hewn in the rock, located at strategic points across harbours and bays. The intention was for these mortars to be discharged as enemy ships approached a point with range. The fougasse would have been loaded with a compact mixture of pebbles and sand, compressed on top of a barrel of black powder. It is known that the Knights of St John had projected a total of 50 fogazze á selci for Malta, and 14 for Gozo. The Qalet Marku fougasse will be preserved as a result of the road being diverted. It will now form part of the coastal area and accessible to visitors.

At Salina – whose harbour has a history dating back to prehistoric times – a number of important archaeological remains and historic buildings have been monitored closely. Foremost among these are the sukkursu canal, which surrounds the salt pans, the remains of part of the Ximenes redoubt and the remains of possible harbour remains dating to Late Antiquity.

The tal-Qadi Neolithic temple, which yielded the well-known stone slab carved with images of stars and a moon, is located a few metres inland. The ancient harbour, which extended further inland from the present shoreline, today lies buried underneath deep deposits of soil and silt.

Monitoring of construction projects has become a standard requirement in many development permits. Certain areas, such as Rabat, Valletta, the Three Cities and old town and village cores require close monitoring. Other areas often yield surprising remains.

Ever since mandatory rescue monitoring was introduced 15 years ago, a large number of archaeological sites and features within historic buildings were saved.

The Superintendence monitors the Coast Road project in collaboration with Transport Malta and MEPA.